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AAAD 330
John Bowles
Negro Modernism through Art Despite the advancement of America in ways that were extraordinary, Negros were still being treated harshly and considered the inferior race. However, during this period of constant discrimination through stereotypical accusations, undermining, and prejudice, the New Negro arose and revolutionized society as a whole. Through reading the works of prominent social activists Langston Hughes and Alain Locke; it can be understood that the concept of the New Negro was a promising aspect during the Harlem Renaissance. The “New Negro”, coined by Alain Locke, is described as being a modernist – an independent and self-guided individual who would go against longstanding white supremacy and prove his equality and noncompliance to unreasonable white assumptions and demands. Langston Hughes and Alain Locke both pushed for the acknowledgement of the American Negro’s part in society as the emanating New Negro sought social compensation for the misjudgment and inequality they faced. The impression Langston Hughes and Alain Locke made, and the message they brought through their works, can be appreciated through Aaron Douglas’s “Building More Stately …show more content…
Locke argues that the New Negro brought forth a significant mission: to reinstate the black race’s prestige and esteem. Alain Locke describes this regeneration as ‘Negro Zionism’. It cannot be discounted that the Old Negro has contributed vastly to American society through art, music, and other ways that shaped America into being what it is today. Being the balance of society, the Old Negro contributed in ways such as labor and spirituality. Locke argues that it is with this sudden contribution that the New Negro is able to be the beneficiary of the significant efforts by the Old